Shalom Y’all!

This site shows what happens when the "Chosen People" choose pork. North Carolina pork barbecue to be specific.
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Sure, there are some annoying parts of living in the age of texting. The guy you’re having a business meeting with who is also sending text messages to his wife. The two people sitting at the table next to you over lunch who are looking down at their iPhones rather than having a conversation. But there are some positives too, such as the motto shown on this apron:

At the beginning of July, I posted an interview with Sean Wilson, founder of Fullsteam Brewery, about the brewery’s Hogwash porter. Not only was the interview thoroughly enjoyable, but Sean was kind enough to invite the Rib Rabbi and me to attend a recent “Thank ‘Cue” event at Fullsteam’s future location, a funky brick warehouse very near the old Durham Athletic Park of Bull Durham fame.

I am happy to report that, despite my initial skepticism that a porter would be too heavy to complement barbecue well, Hogwash pairs well with ‘cue. It is a refreshing, subtly hickory-smoked and easy to drink porter that makes good on its name’s promise of washing down hog. I’m looking forward to Fullsteam’s opening toward the end of this year or early next year, and I’m already daydreaming about pairing Hogwash with samplings of my favorite Eastern- and Lexington-style barbecue. Ah, beer and pork, what more could a BBQ Jew desire?

With apologies to the people of Japan, and people anywhere who practice the art of haiku or any other form of poetry, I present to you my first attempts at creating a new art form called hogku. In case you don’t know, haikus (at least the Americanized version) stick to a basic 5-7-5 syllable structure. Below are my first hogkus. Readers, any hogkus or other barbecue-inspired poems to share?

__________________
Hickory smoked smell
Taste of vinegar on tongue
God must be watching

__________________
Eastern or Western
Differences disappear
Over a chopped plate

Sunday Morning Coming Down
Probably every barbecue lover has been faced with this dilemma: It’s Sunday and the hankering for barbecue strikes, but all the good local joints are closed. Do you a) go against your primal instinct to hunt ‘cue and eat something else, b) go to a second rate joint to get your fix, or c) drive the 1.5 hours required to reach a good joint open on Sundays? Unfortunately, I chose option b) a couple weeks ago and got just what I deserved from the Q Shack, a lousy meal.

My wife, Mrs. LeSwine, and I had a friend in town and she wanted to eat some ‘cue before heading home the next morning. Instead of just explaining that the few good joints in the Triangle are closed Sundays, we decided to try out the Carrboro Q Shack (complete with its too-clever motto, “BBQ Tender as a Mother’s Love”).

Slick corporate propaganda: a funny sign but not a good sign.

Just Don’t Order The Pork…I’ve eaten at Durham’s Original Q Shack several times and have always been fine with their brisket and other non-NC ‘cue offerings, although I’ve never been wowed. The Carrboro Q Shack is part of a small regional chain with locations in Continue reading →

I recently attended a potluck that had barbecue as the main course (not really a pig pickin’, nor did it claim to be,

Classic mustard & mayo slaw for those down east

so I’m refraining from using that sacred term). I decided to bring coleslaw to this event because :

1) Slaw goes with ‘cue like french fries with a burger or chocolate with bacon (pretty well, actually, as I found out at the potluck).

2) It’d been a long time since I last made slaw.

3) The pre-packaged slaw sold at grocery stores is often truly vile stuff.

4) I’d been looking for an excuse to try out some slaw recipes from Holy Smoke.

Oh yeah, and, 5) I am cheap and so is slaw (especially when vinegar and mayo are treated as staple foods and always kept on hand). A quick trip to the grocery store to buy two heads of cabbage and I was ready to make slaw. Continue reading →

Today’s post is the first in what will be an occasional series that presents actual questions from actual BBQJew.com readers. Today, as always, we will protect the reader’s identity unless the reader decides to self-disclose it him/herself. Without further ado, to the e-mailbag we go…

Dear BBQ Jew,
Love the blog/website. I recently moved back to NC in the Durham/Hillsborough area. I made my first trip/pilgramage to Allen and Son tonight. Yum! Here’s the problem. All of my neighbors are Yankees. They keep using barbecue as a verb. I want to hire someone who knows what they are doing to come cook a pig in our cul-de-sac and show them what dining heaven is all about. Know of any good adherents to the Gospel of Vinegar based BBQ who would be willing to make my block party the shizzle?
-Hungry in Hillsborough

Dear Hungry in Hillsborough,

Forshizzle, I’m happy to offer some advice. But first I want to commend you for seeking to convert your Yankee neighbors to our pork-based religion. With a little persistence on your part, along with the sacrificial offering of a slow-cooked pig, I have no doubt these Yankees will soon see the light.

My first suggestion is to talk to your favorite local barbecue joint and see if they cater. Most do. However, since it Continue reading →

A tip of the hat snout to Raleigh-based food blogger Dean McCord, who reports that The Pit is expanding. The Pit, which I “reviewed” awhile back (see what I mean here), is an upscale BBQ restaurant in downtown Raleigh. Apparently the people of Raleigh were not persuaded by my snarky commentary and continue to head to The Pit like, well, hogs to the slaughter. See Dean’s full post on The Pit here and check out the main page of his interesting food blog VarmintBites.